A huge snowstorm hit here on Friday. I came home from work early (and just in time…the highway closed shortly after I arrived home). I was planning on hiding inside all afternoon (a foot of snow and 30mph winds are not my cup of tea). Luka, however, kept giving me expectant looks.

After a couple of hours of these looks I bundled up and we went out in the storm for a walk. The snow was very deep.

I nearly froze to death but I made this guy happy and that makes me happy.

Besides, how can I deny a Malamute the joy of playing in the snow?

If Sadie had her way I suspect she’d skip the frozen walks and stay on the couch.

She is a dog who treats napping as an art form.

Yesterday morning I was sitting on the couch when this happened next to me.

I was sure that once Luka realized Milo was there the moment would end (Luka loves to bug/chase Milo).

I was wrong.

Maybe my boy is finally maturing.

Being trapped in the house this weekend has had its advantages. My Fishermen’s Wool project is taking shape.

I still can’t comment on Blogger blogs that utilize word verification, but I am reading.

I said this about last year, but I can’t believe I’m already looking back on 2009. It was another fast year and another year full of knitting.

I finished a sweater this year:

Sadly, I haven’t worn it because the yarn grew a lot and it’s just too big. At some point I plan on ripping it out and using the yarn for a different sweater. (I adore this shade of green.)

I knit a blanket for a friend’s baby:

I knit a dog walking hat for a friend’s husband:

2009 was mostly the year of socks. I spent the first half of the year unemployed and I spent most of that time (when I wasn’t job hunting) knitting socks:

I have more socks on the needles.

This pair is almost finished:

I’m anxious to finish these socks because I love the color:

I’m also anxious to finish these socks because I love this pattern and this yarn:

I started this scarf and hope to finish it by next winter (I’m back to being obsessed with socks so it’s taken a back seat):

I started out the new year with my 365 project and the intent to document the year by posting one picture every day. I lasted 139 days before my camera broke. When the camera was repaired I had lost interest in the project. So, 2009 taught me that I’m not as interested in photography as I thought I was. I do like to take pictures, but (if forced to make a choice) I would rather do other things.

When I did my end-of-the-year post on 12/31/08, I had one big wish for 2009: to get through the year without any of my pets dying. I’m happy to say that my wish came true.

Sadie has lost 18 lbs. since I adopted her and has discovered that she loves to run:

Kishka spent a lot of time this year doing the things that she loves most.

Rolling in the grass:

Keeping the tennis ball away from Sadie:

And digging holes (note the dirty nose):

What did Romeo do this year? He bossed around his sisters and surveyed his kingdom.

I’ll end this post (and this year) with one of my very favorite pictures. It was taken in the car on the way home from the dog park. They were both exhausted.

I’m one month into my 365 project, so I figured it was time for some reflection

Wow. This is hard. I didn’t expect the 365 project to be easy, but I also didn’t expect to have days where I wander around the house in the late evening desperately looking for a subject to photograph. Thankfully, this hasn’t happened too often and I’ve had just as many days where I have to choose my photo of the day out of five or six great pictures.

Throughout January I spent some time thinking about just what I want to get out of this project. My main goal is to document my life. It’s already working. When I look back on the January pictures I am reminded of some ordinary days that would otherwise be forgotten. That alone makes this project worthwhile.

This project also has me looking at the world differently. I’m noticing light and shadow more than I ever have. I also spend my time at red lights looking all around me instead of staring blankly at the car in front of me.

I’m grateful that so many of you have stuck around while I take this blog in a new direction. Thank you.

On to usual blog topics…

I posted a picture of my finished Kermit Sweater on January 10. Here are some more pictures:

I’m pretty happy with how this sweater turned out. I could easily have gone down to the next size. The sweater is huge. I like my sweaters a bit baggy, but this is pushing it. I intended for this to be a casual sweater (for knocking around the house or to wear while running errands) so I’m not too disappointed. I’m thinking about shortening it a few inches, though. The Cascade 220 grew a lot (lengthwise) when it was soaked.

Is it just me or did 2008 just fly by? It seems like I was just posting my farewell to 2007 and it’s already time to bid 2008 goodbye.

All in all, 2008 was a pretty good year (for both knitting and my life in general).

I finally found my sock mojo:

And, I developed some sweater mojo:

I should be finishing another sweater soon:

I knit a bunch of wash/dishcloths:

And, I knit something I needed:

The highlight of 2008 was definitely finding Sadie. She is such a joy to have around and I firmly believe that she was destined to be my dog.

Unfortunately, I did experience heartbreak again this year. I had to say goodbye to my beloved Samantha. My big wish for 2009 is to get through the year without any of my pets dying. (It’s been a rough couple of years.)

Since I detail all of my projects on Ravelry, I’ve decided to do something different with this blog (well, at least for 2009). For the next 365 days, I am going to take one picture a day and post it here. I’ve decided I want to challenge myself to look more closely at the world around me and also to document each day in my life. I have no idea what I’ll find to photograph each day, but I’ll figure it out. I also want to experiment with Picnik and discover more of their editing tools (I tend to use the same ones over and over). I’ll still do knitting posts from time to time, but for the most part this blog is going to become a picture blog.

I think this is the longest I’ve gone without blogging since I started this thing. Since I’m documenting the heck out of my knitting projects over at Ravelry, I haven’t felt the need to blog my knitting details here anymore.

I’m considering changing the focus of this blog for 2009. I enjoy blogging (and looking back on old blog posts – they always jog a lot of memories), but there’s no need to repeat what I post on Ravelry, so this blog may evolve from being a knitting blog to being something else.

Speaking of knitting, there has been a lot of it!

The arrival of snow motivated me to knit a Dog Walking Hat:

The hat is AMAZING. I knit it out of Cascade 220 (both regular and Superwash) and it’s like a furnace on my head. I love it!

Changing up how I knit socks (from top down on dpn’s to toe up on Magic Loop) inspired me and I knocked off five pairs of socks.

This pair is knit out of Opal’s Harry Potter line in the Hedwig colorway:

I do love these socks, but calling this a Hedwig colorway is bullshit. I’ve read all the books and seen all the movies and I don’t recall a blue/green owl making an appearance.

Like many sock knitters, I joined the sock blank dyeing craze. This blank:

Turned into these socks:

And finally, these socks were knit from one of the first balls of sock yarn I ever purchased (at least three years ago):

The sock obsession soon morphed into sweater knitting. I’ve never been a sweater knitter, but now I’m obsessed.

Baby sweater for my best friend’s newborn son:

Around this time last year I started a Central Park Hoodie. It knit up quickly, but then I got distracted (and frustrated with how to knit the collar and buttonbands). I picked it up again last week and it’s finally finished. And it fits! (This is the first sweater I’ve ever knit for me, so I was afraid it wouldn’t fit.)

Here are the bones of my Weekend Sweater. It’s blocking now and I hope to sew it this weekend.

I’ll be swatching for my next sweater tonight. The yarn is waiting for me:

Thank you for all the wonderful comments on Sadie. I’m always amazed how many comments my dog related posts receive. It makes me feel better about my lack of knitting content.

Speaking of lack of knitting content, I’m afraid it’s going to continue for the foreseeable future. I just don’t have much time to knit anymore. I usually have only an hour or two to knit each week, sometimes less.

My Central Park Hoodie has been frogged back again. Kishka sums up my current feelings about this project:

I do have a plan in place to fix this sweater but since spring is here, I’m just hoping to finish it by next winter.

When I have been knitting, I’ve been knitting on my third Log Cabin Blanket:

Sadie continues to settle into my furry family.

Some might even say she’s already spoiled:

I’m discovering new Sadie quirks almost every day. She likes to sleep like this:

Then when I call her name I get this face:

Her visit to the vet revealed that she weights 116 lbs. She should weigh around 80 lbs. Needless to say, we are doing a lot of walking.